Trick device



L. KRUG TRICK DEVICE Filed July 3, 1937 v Patented May 17, was

PATENT orFlcE TRICK DEVICE Ludwig Krug, New York, N. Y. Application July 3, 1937, Serial No.'151,916

8 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to illusion or trick devices such as commonly form a part of magician's properties, and more particularly to a device of this nature having for its primary object the presentation of an illusion according to which there is ready and easy penetration of an apparently impenetrable body or plate.

A further object of the invention is the provision 'of a device of the above nature which may be easily and quickly manipulated and its ma-' nipulation fully and'effectivelyscreened so that the apparently impossible penetration may be performed at close quarters and the secret of its performance easily concealed.

A still further objectof the invention is the provision of a simple and inexpensive device whose proper manipulation may be easily mastered by old and young, skilled and unskilled,

and which will afford amusement as well as amazement to all within view.

Briefly the invention proposes a device, in the use of which an apparently imperforate and impenetrable plate and the like is easily penetrated by a pencil or other pointed implement while overlying and underlying cards and the like obscure from view a perforation of the plate exposed for the penetration in one position of the latter, the perforation of the plate being-concealed independent of the cards in another position of the plate in which the latter is locked against any movement except when the cards are placed to conceal the perforation in the first mentioned position of the plate. 7

With these general statements it is believed the device may be better understood and more thoroughly appreciated from the following description in detail thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing illustrating the same and forming apart of the specification, and in which Figure l is a perspective view of the device with the plate in normal locked'position. I

Figure 2 is a sectional side view through the frame showing the plate in its position for penetration, one of the concealing cards being in dicated in dotted outline.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the device taken substantially on line 3-4, of Figure2, and

Figures 4 and 5,.are sectional views taken vertically through the device-respectively on lines 4-4 and 6-4 of Figure 2, Figure 4. showing the parts in the position as seen in Figure 1 and Figureifi showing the parts as seen in the position of Fig re 2.

Referring now to these figures, the illusion or tricli is presented in connection with a flat plate andithe like generally indicated at III. This plat may be either transparent or opaque and for ed of any suitable material although it is best in carrying the illusionto its fullest extent, tha the plate be formed of a rigid transparent maitielrial such as glass.

e plate I is mounted to slide in the directio of its length within a frame ll whose front an rear portions substantially overlap the top bottom and side edges of the plate in any position of the latter. The plate ill may be and preferably is of the full internal width of the frame .il thoughit is substantially shorter than th frame so as to permit shifting movement of th plate vertically in the frame from the position shown in Figures 2 and 5 wherein the upper edge of the plate. is in' contact with the upper end of the frame to the position shown in Figures 1 and 4-where the lower edge of the plate is in contact with the lower end of the frame; The frame I I also has at its front and rear sides vertically extending cross members I! and IS, in line with one another, each cross member presenting a centrally disposed guide ring H and upper and lower arms l5, the latter enlarged or widened adjacent to the rings H to form similar shields l6' above and below the rings. The rings also have laterally extending and outwardly curved or flaring guide ears H for a purpose which will presently appear.

It will be noted from Figures 4 and 5 that the plate i0 is closely embraced by the front and rearside portions of the frame II and that its opposite surfaces are similarly closely contacted by the cross members whose rings H are disposed approximately at the center of the frame so that the shields l6 lie in i v surfaces of the glass plate l0 although the cross pieces as a whole have sufficient resilience to yield to the introduction of cards l8 between the cross pieces and the two surfaces of the glass as seen in Figure 5 and the approximate positions. of which are indicated by broken lines in Figure 2.

One of the shields it has at its inner face a protruding locking piece or detent I91iust sufficient to engagewithin an' aperture of the plate l0 when the plate is shifted downwardly from the position shown in Figures 2 and 5 to the position shown in Figures 1 and ,4, the aperture or perforation 20 being then concealed be close contact with the two aperture or perforation 20.

neath the lower shields ii. In this position the plate I is locked against upward movement until the cards I 8, which may be ordinary playing cards, are shifted beneath the two cross pieces and between the latter. and the adjacent surfaces of the glass plate to so that the locking piece or detent I9 is forced out of the aperture or perforation 20 permitting the plate to be shifted upwardly from the normal locked position of Figures 1 and 4 to the position shown in Figures 2 and 5 wherein its aperture or perforation 20 is located approximately at the center of the cross piece rings I4.

The plate is at this time in position so that it may be readily penetrated by a pointed pencil or other pointed implement generally indicated at 2| in Figure 5 simultaneous with the penetration of the cards i8 and it is obviously an easy matter to manipulate or shift the plate Hi to this position while inserting the cards in position, without it being apparent that the plate is being shfted, especially in view of the fact that the plae has been previously locked and nothing is required but the insertion of the cards between thelplate and the frame cross pieces to release the plate for movement. It is especially diflicult to etect any movement of the plate under the operators manipulation where the plate is formed of iglass or similar transparent material.

Thus with the pointed pencil or other iiiiplement penetrating both of the cards l8 lit is plain to the observer that the apparently impenetrable plate ID has also been penetrated and the operator after withdrawing the pencil or other penetrating implement then removes the cards l8 and in the same motion with his other hand shifts the plate Ill downwardly fro the position shown in Figures 2 and 5 to the osition shown in Figures 1 and 2. This is of c urse accomplished before the cards have been fully withdrawn to expose the otherwise unconcealed The result is'that when the cards have been entirely removed the plate III has been shifted downwardly until the aperture or perforation Z0 is concealed, pendent of the cards, by the lower shields l6 and the locking projection or detent l9 has entered the aperture or perforation 20 and completed the locking of the plate in its lowered position so that examination in the hands of the audience again discloses an unmovable and apparently impenetrable plate.

The insertion of the cards laterally beneath the cross pieces is facilitated by the flaring guide ears I! of the cross pieces and it is obvious that but little skill, patience and practice is required to enable the young as well as the old to so shift the plate It! during insertion and removal of the cards as to leave the audience unaware that the plate has been shifted at all. This is especially true bearing in mind that the plate is rigidly locked at the start of operations and similarlylocked when the operation has been completed as well .as the fact that the operator is not required to do anything by way of locking or release of the plate beyond the mere insertion and removal of the cards.

The device as a whole is simple and inexpensive, is calculated to bame all those unfamiliar with its secretof operation, may be readily made of a. durable nature, and will obviously be both amusing and amazing in use.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a plate of .rectangularoutline having an opening therethrough approximately in the central area thereof and being otherwise of an impenetrable material, a rectangular frame in which the plate is slidable between two positions, hav! ing portions embracing and concealing all of the edges of the plate in both positions thereof and also having'cross pieces in yielding contact with the opposite faces of the plate and including shields normally concealing the plate opening in one position of the latter, and relatively thin cards of penetrable material insertable between the plate and the said cross pieces of the frame for concealing the plate opening when the latter is moved to shift its'opening away from the said shields.

2. A device of the character described comprising a plate of rectangular outline having an opening therethrough' approximately in the central area thereof and being otherwise of an impenetrable material, a rectangular frame in which the plate is slidable between two positions, having portions embracing and concealing all of the edges of the plate in both positions thereof and also having cross pieces in yielding contact with the opposite facesof the plate and includ ing shields normally concealing the plate opening in one position of the latter, and relatively thin cards of penetrable material insertable between the plate and the said cross pieces of the frame for concealing the plate opening when the latter is moved to shift its opening away from the said shields, one of said shields having means engageable in the opening of the plate to normally look the latter in its' first mentioned position and releasable from the plate upon insertion of a card between the plate and the respective shield.

3. A trick device comprising a plate having a single aperture spaced from the edges thereof and otherwise impenetrable, a frame in which the plate is shiftable in one direction between two positions and in which the edges of the plate'are concealed in both positions of the latter, said frame having portions crossing opposite faces of the plate and forming shields normally overlying and concealing the aperture of the plate in one position of the latter, and relatively thin penetrable cards of opaque material insertable between said plate and the crossing portions of the frame for concealing the aperture of the plate in another position of the latter.

4. A trick device comprising a plate having a single aperture spaced from the edges thereof and otherwise impenetrable, a frame in which the plate is shiftable in one direction between two positions and in which the edges of the plate are concealed in both positions of the latter, said frame having portions crossing opposite faces of the plate and forming shields normally overlying and concealing the aperture of the plate in one position of the latter, and relatively thin penetrable cards of opaque material insertable between said plate and the crossing portions of the frame for concealing the aperture of the plate in another position of the latter, one of said shields having a locking projection engageable in the aperture of the plate in the first mentioned position of the latter and releasable from the aperture by the. insertion of the corresponding card between the locking projection and the plate.

5. A trick device comprising a flat sliding member having an aperture therein spaced from the edges thereof, and otherwise of an impenetrable nature, a frame in which said' member is shiftable between two' positions, having means embracing and concealing the edges of said sliding member and also having crossing portions along opposite faces of the member normally overlying and concealing the aperture thereof in one position of said sliding member, and relatively thin penetrable elements insertable between said sliding member and said crossing frame portions for concealing the aperture of the sliding member in the other position of the latter.

6. A trick device comprising a flat sliding mem ber having an aperture therein spaced from the edges thereof, and otherwise of an impenetrable nature, a frame in which said member is shiftable between two positions, having means embracing and concealing the edges of said sliding member and also having crossing portions along opposite faces of the member normally overlying and concealing the apertures thereof in one position of said sliding member, relatively thin penetrable elements insertable between said sliding member and said crossing frame portions for concealing the aperture of the sliding member in the other position of the latter, and means releasable upon the insertion of said penetrable elements for norfaces of the member normally overlying and concealing the apertures thereof in one position of said sliding member, relatively thin penetrable elements insertable between said sliding member and said crossing frame portions for concealing the aperture of the sliding member in the other position of the latter, and a locking piece carried by the crossing portions of the frame for engagement in the aperture of the sliding member to lock the latter in its first mentioned position and yieldably free of the aperture to release the sliding member for movement upon the insertion of said penetrable elements.

8. A trick device comprising a frame, a plate of impenetrable material slidable in said frame and having an opening therein, yieldable holding means carried by said frame on oppositesides thereof to hold opaque penetrable material on opposite faces of said plate and to conceal said plate opening from view, and locking means carried by one of said yieldable holding means for engagement in the opening of the plate to lock the plate normally against sliding movement in the frame and releasable upon insertion of the pencltrable material between the last mentioned hold ng means and the plate to permit sliding movement of the plate in the frame to shift the opening of the plate from concealed position to permit penetration of the penetrablematerial on opposite sides of said plate with said opening conqealed by the opaque penetrable material.

d LU'DWIG KRUG. 

